"We were being pretty adamant, you know, keeping up with that stuff even during the campaign so we don't have much of a backlog here," he said Wednesday. "I mean, certainly, there's some work that needs to get done and we're going to make sure it gets done."

The other seat that will be open is now held by Rep. Matt Smith, D-Allegheny, who was elected to the state Senate as he simultaneously ran unopposed in his House district. He says he'll resign at the end of the legislative session Nov. 30.

Calling for special elections falls to the chamber's majority leader next month, and to the speaker in January.

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